Emergency Room

Earlier this week I was commenting on my friend Kathy's blog that I am grateful to have our local hospital pass their Joint Commission inspections with flying colors.  Today I felt even more thankful. As she rushed to greet me coming in our back door, Ellie slipped on a toy and crashed into the gate at our kitchen door.  The sound of the thunk and splat Told me that this was more than our typical daily ouchie.  There was blood everywhere, and it took me a few seconds to discover that it was all coming from a cut on her forehead. 

 Samaritan Hospital, here we come for our kids' first ever emergency room visit...

Dripping blood makes everything look far worse than it really is.

Ellie had stopped crying by the time we got to the car.  She was busy chatting up the triage nurse, who let her pick out a hospital bear (she picked a cow print one) and then gave her a bonus dig through a closet full of donated dolls dressed in hospital gowns.

After the physician assistant cleaned her up a bit, she was ready for stitches. Unfortunately, the cut was gaping too much to just use glue, so they have told us to expect a scar. :(

Ellie cried during the anesthesia shot, but then settled in for the show.
She watched, wordlessly, with eyes crossed, as each stitch was taken with the pretty blue thread.  She laid so still that the nurses didn't even have to hold her head or arms.  No fussing at all!
Afterwards, she got a popsicle.  

Ellie was pretty impressed by her hospital visit.  I'm not sure which she was more excited about: the new dolls, the blue thread, the dime that we found on the floor that she got to put in her angel bank, or the Popsicle that had TWO sticks in it.  I just hope she doesn't think this was a good way to get any or all of those things on a regular basis!

I got to do my own inspection of the ER twice in one day. I had been there myself earlier in the day after a bad reaction to a cortisone shot.  This was a very crazy day.